Grain-handling apparatus



Oct. 22, 1929.

D. B. FEG LES GRAIN HANDLING APPARATUS Filed March 50. 1928 v e 7 a 1i a\ -ash is; W

CLEAN 6mm Inventor DONALD E FEGLES Attorney ca. 2.2, was 1,732,463

DONALD B. snenns, or rarinvnarotis, MINNESOTA GRAIN-HANDLING srranarus Application filed. March 30, 1&23. Serial No. $565305,

This invention relates to new and useful. selected cleaning unit, from which unit the improvements in grain handling apparatus, grain, if not thoroughly cleaned, may be departicularly adapted for use in grain elevalivered to a second unit, arranged beneath the tors and terminal warehouses where unfirst unit, for further cleaning. Thus, the

5 cleaned grain is received. Grain thus regrain may be fed through two or more units ceived is usually passed through a suitable arranged for series operation until the grain grain separator and cleaner for the purpose is ultimately cleaned to the desired degree. of removing dockage therefrom. Frequently, The connections between the common hopper when the foreign content or doclrage conand the cleaning units are also so arranged 1o tained in the grain is heavy, the desired rethat the grain may simultaneously be delivsult cannot be obtained in one cleaning opered to two or more of the cleaning units erafion in which case, necessary that] fIOlIl the hopper, thereby increasing the CEL- the grain be run through the cleaning 1napacity of the apparatus because of such paralchine a second time. In present installalcl operation of the grain cleaning units.

" tions, the grain separating and cleaning ma- The particular object of the invention,

chines or units are usually mounted upon therefore, is to provide an improved grain a floor in the building in such a manner that handling apparatus or method particularly when the grain has been passed through one adapted for use in grain elevators and tercleaning unit, and it is found that it still minal Warehouses where grain is received 20 contains some dockage, it becomes necessary from the producer for distribution, which to elevate the grain back to the receiving comprises a plurality of grain cleaning units hopper of the same unit for passage thereof like construction, arranged preferably one through a second time; or, it may be elevated above the other and interconnected so as to to the receiving hopper of another similar increase the volume of the apparatus without unit, positioned adjacent thereto. increasing the horizontal distance required 7 To thus elevate the grain from the disto spout the grain, and without increasing charge of one unit to the receiving hopper theground area or space occupied by the of another, or to the same unit, requires suitg am Cleaning units. The particular an able elevating mechanism which, obviously rangement of the cleaning units is also such adds to the cost of the installation and the as to make possible the delivery of partially so cost of operation, and it also more or less cleaned grain from one cleaning unit to ancomplicates the apparatus and the handling other for repeat cleaning, without the necesof the grain or material and contributes to Sity of re-elevating the grain; and the arthe degradation of the grain. It is therefore rangement of the units further being such desirable that the installation of the apparathat the grain will feed by gravity from the tus be arranged in such a manner, that such discharge of one unit to the receiving hopper operations as elevating the partially cleaned of another unit, thereby simplifying the apgrain from the discharge of one cleaning unit, paratus and operation.

back to the receiving hopper of the same Other objects of the invention will appear unit, or to the receiving hopper of an adjafrom the following description and acco1ncent unit, be eliminated to simplify the hanpanying drawings and will be pointed out dling of the grain and consequently the cost in the annexed claims.

of such handling. In the accompanying drawings, there has The object of the present invention is to been disclosed a structure designed to carry arrange separating and cleaning units in such out the various objects of the invention, but

a manner that the grain may be delivered it is to be understood that the invention thereto from a common hopper, the connecnot confined to the exact features shown as tions between the hopper and the cleaning various changes may bemade within the scope units being so arranged that all. of the grain of the claims which follow.

may be diverted from. the hopper into Tilt drawing shows a diagrammatic view 1.01.

illustrating the improved arrangement of the grain cleaning units and the means for feed ing the grain thereto from a common hopper.

In the selected embodiment of the invention here shown, there is illustrated, for purposes of disclosure, a plurality of grain storage bins or'garners 1, 2, 3, and 4 having spouts 5, 6, 7 and 8, respectively, leading therefrom to a common hopper 9. This hopper may be omitted if preferred. The grain'discharge spouts5, 6, 7, and 8 are each provided with a suitable slide or gate valve 11 whereby the delivery of the grain from the bins to the hopper 9 may be controlled.

An important feature of this invention resides in the novel arrangement of the grain separating and cleaning units 12 and 13, which, it will be noted, are preferably arranged in superimposed relation for conservation of space, but they may be in staggered relation upon different levels. These cleaning units, as they will hereinafter be referred to, are of conventional construction, and it is therefore thought unnecessary to show same in detail. The upper cleaning unit12 has a receiving hopper 14; arranged directly beneath a feed spout 15 connected with a trunk 16 leading from the hopper 9. A suit-able valve 17 is provided at the bottom of the hopper 9 to control the delivery of grain to the cleaning units.

The lower cleaning unit is provided with a similar receiving hopper 18 having a spout 19 arranged thereovcr which communicates with the trunk 16. Suitable valves 21 and 22 are provided in the spouts 15 and 19, re-

spectively, to control the flow of grain therethrough. By thus connecting the receiving hoppers of the two cleaning units with the feed trunk 16, and because of the provision of the valves 21 and 22, grain may be deliveredfrom the hopper 9 to either one or the other of the two cleaning units, or, if desired, grain may be delivered to the two units simultanenously from the hopper 9 so that the two cleaning units may be operated in parallel. By this expression I mean the grain may be passed througheach unit with out passing through the other.

The upper cleaning unit 12 has a grain discharge 23 from which a spout 24 leads to a suitable receiving means, not shown. The discharge 25 of the lower cleaning unit 13 similarly has a'spout 26 which may be connected to the spout 2 1- so that grain discharging therefrom will be delivered into the same receiving means. Each cleaning unit is further connected with a dockage spout 27, as shown, through which the foreign'ccntent or blockage removed from the grain may be delivered to a suitable receiving means, not shown.

Frequently, grain received at a grain distribution point, such as an'elevator, or terminal warehouse, must be passed through the cleaning units two or more times before it is thoroughly cleaned to prepare it for shipment. This is conveniently brought about in the present invention because of the superimposed relation of the cleaning units. Referring to the drawing, it will be noted that the discharge 2?) of the unit 12 has a spout 28 connecting it with the feed spout 19, leading fromv the feed trunk 16 to the receiving hopper 18 of the lower unit. A suitable valve 29 is provided at the junction between the spouts 2d and 28 so that grain discharging from the unit 12 may, if desired, be diverted into the receiving hopper of the lower unit 18, whereby the grain will again be cleaned as a result of its passage through the lower unit 13, from whence it will be delivered by the spout 26 to the spout 24, which discharges into the cleaned grain receiving means, not shown. When the grain is thus passed in series consecutively through the two cleaning units, the valve 22 will, of course, be closed and the valve 29 will similarly be closed to interrupt the delivery of grain from the discharge -3 of the unit 12 to the upper end of the spout 24. The cleaning units will thus be arranged for series operation, the

, grain being delivered into the upper unit from the feed trunk 16, then passed therethrough and is discharged into the spout 28 for delivery into the receiving hopper 18 of the lower unit 13.

From this unit, the clean grain flows into the spout 26 and into the lower end of the spout 24, while the dockage from both units is delivered into the dockage spout 27.

From the foregoing, therefore, it will readily be seen that by the particular arrange ment and interconnecting of the cleaning units, they may readily be arranged for parallel operation, when. it is found that the grain will be sutliciently cleaned by passing through only one unit, or, if it is found that the grain is not suiiiciently cleaned, by passing it through one unit, the valves 21, 22, and 29 may be operated to cause the grain discharging from the hopper 9 to pass through the units successively. The particular arrangement and connections of the units therefore make it possible to operate the units either in parallel or in series, as may be desired, depending upon the condition of the grain.

In the drawing I have shown but two cleaning units, one arranged above the other. It is to be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited to this particular arrange ment as, obviously, two or more units may be arranged in superimposed relation and also the units may be arranged in groups, two or more being placed upon the floor and each having one or more units a rrangcd thereover, thus greatly increasing the capacity and efiiciency of the installation, while at the same time requiring but minimum floor space.

The full lines 31 and 32 indicate floor locations. In an installation of the type set forth in this application, the cleaning units and the common hopper 9 are preferably arranged. on floors below the bins or garners 1, 2, 8, and 4, which are arranged in the upper part of the structure.

I have shown in the drawing a plurality of bins, but I may substitute a single bin for the group shown herein and instead of having the material delivered by gravity to the cleaning units, I may provide a suitable type of force feed, as for instance, a screw conveyor. Such a change, however, would be merely the substitution of one well known feeding apparatus for another, and as the operation and result obtained would be substantially the same, I have not thought it necessary to illustrate these modifications. It will be understood, also, that this apparatus will be incorporated in an elevator or warehouse with other mechanism pertaining to such a structure, all of which, having no immediate bearing on the invention herein disclosed and claimed, is not illustrated or described.

In various ways therefore, it will be understood the details of this apparatus or installation may be modified and still be within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A grain handling apparatus comprising in combination, a hopper; a plurality of bins having connections therewith, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units connected with said hopper, and means adapted to divert the grain from said hopper through said units for series operation, said means also being adapted to deliver grain from said hopper to each of said units simultaneously for parallel operation.

2. A grain handling apparatus comprising in combination, a plurality of bins adapted to contain the grain to be treated, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units having pipe connections with said bins, and means whereby the grain may be directed to said units successively for operation in series or independently for separate or parallel operation.

A grain handling apparatus comprising a series of bins adapted to receive the grain to be separated, a hopper connected with said bins, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units having pipe connections with said hopper, and valves provided in said pipe connections for directing the grain successively through said units, or to either unit independently of the others.

4. A grain handling apparatus comprising in contibii'iation, a plurality of bins adapted to contain the grain to be handled, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units ar ranged in superimposed relation, whereby an economy of ground area may be effected, suitable pipes connecting said bins with said units, and means adapted to direct the grain through said pipes to said units in succession or for series separation or to either unit independently of the others for parallel separation.

5. A grain handling apparatus comprising in combination, a plurality of bins adapted to contain the grain to be treated, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units arranged upon different levels and having pipe connections with said bins, each unit having a pipe connection with the other unit on an upper level and also having a suitable discharge, and suitable valves for said pipe connections adapted to divert the grain from said bins through each unit in succession or to each unit independently of the other unit.

6. A grain handling apparatus comprising in combination, a plurality of bins adapted to contain the grain to be treated, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units arranged upon different levels and having pipe connections with said bins, each unit having a pipe connection with the other unit on an upper level and also having a suitable discharge, and suitable valves for said pipe connections whereby the grain from said bins may be directed through each unit in succession.

7. A grain handling apparatus comprising in combination, a bin, a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units and conveying connections between said bin and said cleaning units, said connections being adapted to direct the material to said units successively for operation in series or independently for separate or parallel operation.

8. A grain handling apparatus comprising a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units arranged at different levels, a system of conduits connecting said units, means whereby said units may be connected by said conduit system either in parallel. or in ries, and means for feeding grain to the upper end of said conduit system.

9. A grain handlin apparatus comprising a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units, a system of conduits connecting said units, means whereby said units may be connected by said conduit system either in series or in parallel, and means for feeding the material to be cleaned to said conduit system.

10. A grain handling apparatus compris ing a plurality of grain separating and cleaning units, means for feeding grain thereto, and means adapted to direct the material successively through said units for series opera tion, or simultaneously therewith for parallel operation.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of March 1928.

DONALD B. FEGLES. 

